A Glimpse Into The Everyday Realities Of Life In Ancient Greece
When the average person studies history, they tend to learn the most about a period's big events and important figures. After all, the politics and administrations of ancient civilizations influenced the forms and even the very creations of some of the most iconic symbols of ancient civilizations that still survive today.
At the same time, knowing who Socrates is or why Persia invaded Greece doesn't really provide a sense of what it would be like to actually live in ancient Greece. Fortunately, that's a topic that historians typically hold as much interest in as they do the more cataclysmic events.
Bathing was a big deal
Although smaller, private baths like this tub in Messinia's Palace of Nestor weren't unheard of in ancient Greece, there were likely more that were much more expansive and public. Indeed, the ancient Greeks took cleanliness seriously enough that some of the earliest known Greek structures were bathhouses.
Although short, ice-cold baths were in vogue throughout the earliest years of Greek civilization, the Laconicans near Sparta figured out how to make them hot with coals. Both styles remained popular in Greece, and the baths at houses near gymnasiums and other public arenas were often big enough to fit multiple people at once.
Democracy started in Athens but not for everyone
As The History Channel explained, the first known democracy emerged in Athens after the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a series of political reforms in 507 B.C. Yet, while these reforms introduced the high-minded concept of equality before the law, that equality wasn't shared by as many people as it may seem.
There were about 260,000 people in Athens throughout the century after this occurred, with 100,000 of them being citizens, 10,000 of them being residents from other lands, and 150,000 of them being enslaved people. Since only male citizens above the age of 18 could vote, the right was limited to about 40,000 Athenians.
Being a woman in ancient Greece was hard and restrictive
Although it's true that women weren't allowed to vote in Ancient Greek democracies, the sad reality is that this doesn't quite scratch the surface in explaining how socially and politically disadvantaged they were at the time. As The Guardian reported, women also could not inherit property or participate in the legal system without a male guardian.
Scotland's Cedarbank School expanded on these restrictions further, stating that women couldn't leave the house (even to go to a temple) without their husband's permission in most city-states. They were also disallowed from participating in the Olympic Games, and married women could be put to death for even attending them.
Going to the bathroom was much more unpleasant
It may or may not come as a surprise to learn that toilet paper was completely absent from ancient Greek life. Instead, people would use whatever they could find to clean themselves once they did their business. Unfortunately, this could include uncomfortable objects like rocks.
However, public bathrooms in ancient Greece weren't just physically uncomfortable. They consisted of marble slabs with slots cut into them that would drop into sewage ditches with running water. Although this method was fairly ingenious for the time, this photo shows that it also didn't leave any room for privacy.
Salt was valuable enough to be used as currency
As Discover Magazine explained, salt wasn't simply used to make food taste better in ancient Greece. It had the more important job of preserving food to prevent waste and starvation in a time before refrigeration. At the same time, the ancient Greeks also believed salt had a wide range of medicinal values.
For these reasons, salt was one of the most valuable commodities people could trade at the time. According to Time, this was true to such an extent that it wasn't uncommon for Greek citizens to buy enslaved people using only salt as their currency.
Sparta was the worst Greek city state to grow up in
Not only did the ancient Spartans exclusively bother to raise the strongest babies once they were born, but The History Channel explained that boys were essentially forced into military training at the age of seven. Although much of their education was considered fairly standard, this training often crossed the line into brutality.
Not only were boys flogged for being insufficiently fit, but their skin was intentionally neglected to make it hard and dry; they were issued just one cloak year-round, and they made their beds themselves from plants ripped by river banks. They were also malnourished and forced to best each other in violent contests.
Unibrows were considered beautiful in ancient Greece
Although ancient Greek makeup and hair dye were used to achieve desirable qualities at the time, Mental Floss described the civilization's society as favoring natural looks. At least, they favored looks that seemed convincingly natural. One major exception to this, however, concerned women's eyebrows.
Since symmetry was so highly valued in ancient Greece, adding powder or even goat hair between the eyebrows was considered an acceptable way to achieve an attractive, symmetrical unibrow. Single women would use this technique to attract romantic partners, while married women were generally expected to keep their faces natural.
Long hair communicated status in ancient Greece
As Professor Katherine "Kathy" Schwab of Fairfield University told Greenwich Time, long hair was considered a sign of aristocracy or otherwise elevated social status. Although the Romans didn't agree that this necessarily applied to men, this aesthetic standard was more generally applied in Greece.
By contrast, shaved heads were associated with enslaved people. As the MIT Press Reader indicated, there were many potential reasons why a citizen might shave their enslaved person's head, but the point is that most people at the time wouldn't have voluntarily done that to themselves.
Slavery was a ubiquitous part of daily life
Since records of enslaved people in ancient Greece are hard to come by, a 2023 study in the Cambridge University Press estimated that they could have represented anywhere from 30% to 50% of the total Athenian population. And that only accounts for Athens.
Not only was it considered a sign of poverty if a Greek family didn't own enslaved people back then, but they were a significant part of daily life, even among families who didn't have them. That's because mining, cooking, sailing, and even police work were often conducted by enslaved people.
Fountains weren't just pretty, they were sorely needed
According to the British School of Athens, Greece was not a country with easy access to water in ancient times. Rather than the decorative fountains seen today, ancient Greek fountains were a way to address these water access issues and minimize the distance necessary to travel for it.
According to the British Museum, women would use water jugs like the one pictured — which were called hydria — to carry the water they needed back to their homes. Bathing in the fountains was also outlawed as a means of avoiding spoiling important water sources.
Most people didn't get married for romantic reasons
According to PBS, marriages in ancient Greece were typically arranged between families and were based on transactional qualities like the bride's dowry, her fertility, and her domestic skills. Although the wedding ceremonies themselves had romantic trappings, it's worth remembering that they typically occurred between 14-year-old girls and men twice their age.
Once the wedding took place, the wife would take a confining place in the home and see few opportunities to socialize with others. That said, divorce and remarriage were both more common and less stigmatized than in early Christian societies.
Divorce was much easier for men to initiate than women
According to Tufts University's Perseus Digital Library, divorce for men in ancient Greece was a relatively simple affair. At essentially any time he wanted, a man could expel his wife from his house. The only legal requirement he had to meet in the wake of divorce was to return her family's dowry.
For women, however, divorce was harder to obtain. Although women could file for divorce, they had to do so by appearing in person before an authority called an archon and presenting their written request. As the University of Massachusetts in Boston noted, however, a man who did not want the divorce could physically prevent her from doing this without consequence.
Ancient Greek women risked their lives with makeup
For ancient Greek women, the standard of beauty they were expected to live up to prized pale skin. As Elysian Magazine explained, this was because women who showed suntans were either seen as looking like enslaved people or members of the lower classes.
Yet while women in wealthier families found a solution to this pressure, it wasn't a pleasant one. These women would lighten their skin with a powder made from chalk, white lead, and crocodile dung. Although the last of these three was the most disgusting part of this mixture, the white lead often carried lethal consequences.
Poverty was common in ancient Greece due to scarcity
According to the BBC, the scientists, philosophers, scholars, and artists who exemplify what people revere about ancient Greece were few and far between. If Greek residents weren't soldiers or sailors, the most likely livelihoods they had available were farming, fishing, or trading commodities.
Unfortunately, it was hard to make a living in many of these professions, which left a significant number of Greek citizens impoverished. This was largely due to the scarcity of water, farmland, and usable wood at the time.
Military service was mandatory
According to a 2001 article in The Classical Quarterly, conscription was a hotly debated but always possible eventuality in ancient Athens. During times of war, generals could list desired soldiers in documents known as katalogoi, which meant that Athenians were required to attend military training for two years once they came of age.
In Sparta, however, there was no debate. According to a 2023 article in the Journal Of Institutional Economics, Spartans were expected to serve in the military from the moment training started at the age of seven to the age of 60. Although both societies considered military service honorable, Sparta made it the dominant way of life.
Ancient Greeks covered themselves in olive oil
According to a 2014 article in Food Research International, the ancient Greeks valued olive oil and were known to cover themselves in it, especially during athletic events. This was for both religious and practical reasons, as olive trees were said to originate from the goddess Athena.
However, olive oil was also used to cleanse the body due to the lack of soap throughout ancient Greece. Although there was some evidence that ancient Greeks were early developers of soap, this happened on far too small a scale for most people to ever use it.
Men and women dyed their hair in ancient Greece
According to the Journal Of The American Academy Of Dermatology, blonde hair in ancient Greece was popular enough that men and women alike would rinse their hair in potassium solutions and then mix in a paste of pollen (often from saffron) and yellow flower petals to turn their hair golden.
As Scientific American reported, however, some citizens at the time would also darken their hair with a mixture of lead oxide and lime. Unfortunately, the presence of lead made this dye toxic, which was sadly characteristic of cosmetic products at the time.
Education varied widely between boys and girls
According to Maryville University, ancient Greek boys were taught to read and write, as well as schooled in subjects like mathematics, poetry, and physical education. Although girls from more wealthy families were often taught to read and write, most families didn't consider that education necessary.
Instead, girls were primarily taught weaving and other skills needed to manage a household. This wasn't entirely the case in Sparta, as people there believed that strong and intelligent women gave birth to soldiers who possessed the same qualities. For that reason, literacy and physical education among women were more common there.
Ancient Greek men publicly exercised in the nude
According to The University Of Toronto, ancient Greek society placed a serious emphasis on physical fitness as a means of sculpting the aesthetic ideal of the male body. As such, the work of achieving and maintaining that ideal was something everyone wanted to see in as much detail as possible.
With that in mind, many may recall that the ancient Greek version of the Olympic Games had its competitors participate in the nude. This is true, but it implies that this nudity was reserved for special occasions, which wasn't the case. Those engaging in routine exercises in public gymnasiums were also expected to do so nude.
Ancient Greek fashion tended to be very simple
Although wealthy citizens in ancient Greece could afford to dye their clothes different colors, most outfits at the time would have been pretty drab. Young men typically wore short tunics, while older men were more likely to sport the longer robe-like tunics typically associated with the great philosophers. Enslaved men were usually given only loincloths.
As for women, the usual dress consisted of a long cotton or linen tunic called a chiton. The ensemble also included an over-the-shoulder cloak called a himation, which varied in thickness according to the season. Although many people walked around barefoot, some wore leather sandals. High boots were only intended for horse riding.
Most people in ancient Greece removed their body hair
According to a 2013 article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, hairless bodies were idealized in ancient Greece. This was true of men and women alike and the statues that survive from the era reflect this preference.
However, this emphasis on removing body air wasn't entirely done for aesthetic reasons. Since body hair was considered an easy entrance point for parasites, a body without hair was considered cleaner. The Guardian also noted that Alexander The Great popularized clean-shaven faces, as beards gave the enemy something to grab in battle.
Religious worship often became pretty messy
According to The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, the ancient Greeks worshipped various gods at temples that stood on sacred grounds known as sanctuaries. However, the most central facet of this worship tended to involve staining those grounds with blood.
That's because animal sacrifices were the most common way that citizens thanked the gods for good fortunes they experienced in life. Sheep, goats, and oxen were typically the animals involved in this practice. Liquid offerings were commonly made as well but gathered participants also tended to feed on the slaughtered animals together.
There were a lot of holidays in ancient Greece
As the Metropolitan Museum of Art explained, religious festivals filled the year in ancient Greece. After all, there were a lot of gods to celebrate. Much like when an animal was slaughtered in the temple, these holidays were more accurately described as feast days.
That said, there were four that were considered much more culturally significant affairs than the others. They took place in Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia every four years and featured elaborate processions, athletic competitions, and sacrifices. So not only were the Olympic Games initially religious festivals, but they were just one of four similar events.
Spartan women were ritually kidnapped at their weddings
According to Sky History, Sparta differed from Athens in that women were typically married off between 18 and 20 to husbands of similar ages. However, the wedding ceremony included a ritual where the groom would kidnap the bride and take her to her new home.
Despite the violent impression of this ceremony, however, it was expected. Women would prepare for it by cutting their hair short and wearing boy's clothes, as their future husbands would have spent most of their lives in the exclusive company of men. The kidnapping was also a way around Spartan law, which prohibited men under 30 from living with their wives.
The ancient Greeks brushed their teeth with twigs
As Huffpost reported, many ancient civilizations used twigs to clean their teeth. Some of these twigs were sharpened as toothpicks, while others were more primitive versions of toothbrushes. Since those could feel harsh, though, some Greek citizens used a cotton-wrapped finger. After all, who wants a splinter from their toothbrush?
Although the Greeks weren't the only ancient civilization to develop a powdery early version of toothpaste, their formula was special for incorporating crushed oyster shells and bones. The Romans would later adopt a similar oral hygiene recipe.
Ancient Greek toys were surprisingly sophisticated
As the BBC explained, many ancient Greek toys consisted of small pottery figures like this. However, dolls could be made of anything from rags to wood to clay to wax. Not only that, but some ancient Greek toy makers even figured out how to make the arms and legs movable.
The rattles that babies would enjoy in the 20th Century were also present in ancient Greece, as were yo-yos, hobby horses, and hoops to chase down the street. Game balls were either made from rags or modified pig bladders.
Ancient Greek cuisine tended to be pretty simple
As the BBC explained, the ancient Greeks typically ate on a similar schedule to modern times, as they took in breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert (which was known as the "pudding" course.) However, the food they ate may be a little insufficiently filling by modern standards.
That's because breakfast often consisted of fruit and bread dipped in wine, while lunch was a simple meal of bread and cheese. Dinner tended to be the most substantial course and typically featured barley porridge, eggs, cheese, fish, vegetables, and fruit. Dessert consisted of nuts, figs, and cakes made with honey.
Meat was not commonly eaten in ancient Greece
While it's fairly easy to eat meat with every meal if one so desires nowadays, that was not the case in ancient Greece. Indeed, the sacrifices and feast days that saw citizens feed on sacrificed animals provided more of a special treat than they may seem.
That's because meat was typically only widely available for the rich. While poorer citizens more commonly used nuts, fish, and eggs for protein, the rich had access to rabbits, deer, and wild boar. Octopus was also considered a popular food.
People followed strict social rules when they ate
Considering that most dishes were eaten with the fingers in ancient Greece, it may be easy to assume there weren't many table manners. However, it seems that the most important rules about eating concerned where it was done and who it was done with.
For instance, men and women typically didn't sit together during meals. Moreover, it was considered particularly low-class to eat in public, so rich citizens only did so at home. Eating in public was only something that poorer citizens and enslaved people did.
The ancient Greeks didn't drink wine to get intoxicated
Although wine was such a significant part of ancient Greek culture that an entire god was devoted to it, this doesn't mean that most city-states made a habit of drinking in excess. According to Wine Spectator, the most conservative estimate indicated that wine was diluted to the point that there was three times as much water in it as actual wine.
This was because the wine wasn't supposed to be an intoxicant, as drunkenness was widely considered barbaric. Instead, it was used to both improve the taste and the sanitation of stagnant water, as fermentation was a common defense ancient Europeans had against waterborne illnesses.
People could vote politicians into ten-year exiles
Although ostracism is typically described as social shunning nowadays, it was actually a legitimate political process in ancient Athens. According to National Geographic, Athenians could nominate anyone they felt threatened democracy and have them expelled from the city-state for ten years at a time.
Any citizens could be subject to this punishment, including political leaders. Although politicians can certainly be voted out of office today, the consequences for falling out of favor were much steeper then. Nonetheless, people voted based on political disagreements, a lack of trust in a person's integrity, or just personal distaste.
All performances were outdoor performances
While outdoor music festivals and open-air theatrical performances are hardly unheard of nowadays, ancient Athenians would have no other option if they wanted to catch a show. According to the BBC, such performances were limited to the larger cities of ancient Greece, as only they had the facilities to accommodate large-scale performances.
Unfortunately, it's unclear what would have happened if bad weather had hampered one of these performances. If the show couldn't be moved indoors, one can only hope that ancient Athenian theaters had reasonable refund policies.
The ancient Greeks had flushing toilets
Although the conditions in which people used the bathroom in public settings would certainly be awkward by modern standards, even time travelers might have been a little impressed by the way the toilets worked. There may not have been a lever to flush them, but that flushing still happened.
According to the British Association of Urological Surgeons, the Palace of Knossos was a watershed development for plumbing that was finished in 1,700 BCE and featured large stone pans that let running water through. These drains would be incorporated into other facilities as time went on.
Juries were so much bigger in ancient Athens
According to the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, a jury of 500 men decided the trial of Socrates, which saw him executed by hemlock poisoning. Although the nature of the trial was unusual, the size of the jury wasn't.
Juries of about 500 men used to be common in ancient Greece, as most people couldn't realistically bribe enough of them to affect their case. These juries were comprised of men above the age of 30, and given their sheer size, they would have mostly consisted of farmers.
Greek doctors traveled and faced saturated markets
Although the philosophies and work of figures like Hippocrates have made ancient Greece the cradle of Western medicine, that doesn't mean doctors were the only people who could offer medical advice in ancient Greece. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, early doctors worked hard to distinguish their expertise from the wide range of competitors in their field.
These included drug vendors, root cutters, midwives, athletic trainers, and a range of other healers who invoked the gods and carried "magical" herbs and charms. Nonetheless, doctors trained at apprenticeships under more experienced physicians and traveled so far and wide that many of the doctors in Rome were Greek.
Prayer in ancient Greece was loud and depended on the god
Although prayer tends to be solemn and personal in most modern religions, Schreiner University's Logan Library explained that visits to ancient Greek temples tended to be more dramatic affairs. Although there were indeed animal sacrifices, these temples also featured prayers with arms extended upward as worshippers loudly praised and entreated Zeus and the other Olympians for help.
If they had something to ask of Hades, they would instead kneel down and pray while hitting the ground with their hands to ensure they could be heard. The process was the same for contacting any other divine figure in the Underworld.
The ancient Greeks believed in the walking dead
As CBS News reported, archaeologists who uncovered ancient Greek graves noticed that people back then used some surprisingly aggressive burial practices. In cases where bodies weren't burned or dismembered, they were either tied, staked, or weighed down by heavy rocks. Other techniques included burying them excessively deep and flipping them on their stomachs.
Why did people go to this trouble? Well, they believed that certain bodies were revenants, or bodies that could otherwise rise from their graves and attack the living. Those assumed to be revenants ranged from foreign residents to illegitimate children to those who lost their lives to sudden tragedies, to give a few examples.
Spartan warriors were shamed for losing their shields
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, there's no confirmation that a Spartan mother ever told her son, "Come back with your shield or on it." However, this scolding was true to the prevailing beliefs of Spartans, as losing one's shield in battle was considered a deeply humiliating dishonor.
So much so that if a Spartan warrior lost his shield and fainted in battle, he would be expected to choose death over living with that dishonor. The fact that the famous general Brasidas didn't take his own life after the battle of Thermopylae and chose to learn from his mistakes set him apart from most other military leaders at the time.
Spartans were always worried about slave revolts
Even by the standards of ancient civilizations, the Smithsonian Magazine described the Spartans as treating their enslaved peoples (called "helots") with abominable cruelty. That fact wasn't lost on them either, as many Spartans had to admit that they constantly feared the helot population would revolt against them.
This is what made General Brasidas's idea of forming an army of helots to attack Athenian-aligned cities amid Sparta's personnel shortages at the time so risky. However, due to a combination of exchanging freedom for military service and a manipulative strategy that avoided combat, he was able to achieve his goals without issue.
Ancient Greek windows didn't have any glass
According to the BBC, ancient Greek homes tended to be built around a courtyard or garden. Unless they were rich enough to decorate their homes with colorful tiles and paintings, most citizens had little furniture to speak of.
The walls of their homes were made from either wood or mud bricks, and their beds were made from feathers, wool, or dry grass. Although the small windows on these houses didn't feature any glass, residents kept the Sun's heat out with wooden shutters.
Hair was a central part of certain Greek rituals
According to Fairfield University, both young men and women in ancient Greece were known to style a braid in the central part of their hair so they could cut it off in tribute to the goddess Artemis. They would also dedicate a lock of their hair to the temples that served as their wedding venues.
Although these weren't the only rituals in ancient Greece that saw people incorporate their hair, the other two major reasons to cut one's hair in adulthood were more somber. Men did so before they headed off to war, and women cut their hair as a sign of mourning.
Combs were a surprisingly valuable status symbol
Archaeologists have long discovered that it wasn't unusual for ancient Greek women to be buried with their combs and other hairbrushes. This was because they were expensive at the time and typically made from gold, ivory, and bone. They were also known to feature intricate engravings of famous tales or depictions of the gods.
Given the ornate craftsmanship behind them, it's perhaps not surprising to learn that combs were rarely seen outside of wealthier Greek homes. Instead, Fairfield University explained that most Greek citizens tended to hold their hair in place with elaborate hairnets, as well as bands made of leather, metal, or cloth.
The military of Epirus brought elephants to war
According to the University of Chicago, the first time the ancient Romans had ever encountered elephants was in 280 BCE and came as a result of the Greek king Pyrrhus (who ruled the western region of Epirus) leading 20 of them into battle.
The presence of elephants proved devastating for the Romans, as the animals frightened Roman horses and left their riders with a significant height advantage. Roman soldiers also rightly feared being trampled by the elephants. However, the Romans would eventually bring some back to the city after Pyrrhus was defeated at the Battle of Beneventum.
Chewing gum was only used for hygienic purposes
A surprisingly wide range of ancient civilizations made gum chewing a regular practice and the ancient Greeks were no exception. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, their gum was derived from the resin of a mastic plant (pictured), which is where the term "masticate" comes from.
Although people often choose gum brands based on their flavor and longevity nowadays, it's also true that many people chew it for the same reason the Greeks would have. It's unclear how their resin tasted but it had the effect of freshening their breath and maintaining oral hygiene.
Alexander the Great jump-started the Greek jewelry industry
Although the Metropolitan Museum Of Art noted that Greek artists started making ornate gold jewelry during the time of Philip II of Macedon (Alexander's father), it wasn't until Alexander himself conquered the Persian empire that this jewelry became widely available.
This is because he was able to raid the treasures of Babylon, which allowed vast quantities of gold to circulate throughout Greece. In turn, this supported the development of entire industries for centuries to come once artists and other creators got their hands on that gold. The most prized client among these artists was the Hellenistic royal court.
Women were barred from sports with one big exception
Although women weren't allowed to participate in (or sometimes even watch) the Olympic Games, that doesn't mean there was no sport they could ever win. According to Schreiner University's Logan Library, it was technically possible for women to win at chariot racing.
This doesn't mean they were actually allowed to race the chariots. However, if a woman were rich enough to own a horse, she would receive the prize in the event that her horse won. Given the circumstances that made this possible, only a few wealthy women could possibly win these prizes.
Celebrating a birth looked very different in ancient Greece
Although it's true that people can imagine some pretty strange gender reveal parties nowadays, it's hard to get stranger than the way ancient Greek families celebrated a new baby. On the one hand, these celebrations worked similarly, as Schreiner University's Logan Library explained that families would signify the baby's gender with a wreath above their doors.
If the wreath was made of olives, the baby was a boy. If the wreath was made from wool, the baby was a girl. Either way, the baby's father would carry them and dance around around the household while completely nude. Friends and relatives sent gifts during this time.
Every adult in Greek society would be a late bloomer today
Although ancient Greek society clearly favored men, it was also surprisingly restrictive in determining the age at which a boy became a man. Although most societies judge people as reaching adulthood when they turn 18, a young man in ancient Athens would be considered a youth for another decade.
It is for this reason that only men aged 30 or older could serve on a jury in ancient Greece. According to Schreiner University's Logan Library, men were only considered grown adults who could no longer be accurately described as "youths" when they reached 30.
Enslaved people had different roles depending on gender
Although enslaved people could conceivably be slotted into any number of jobs in ancient Greece, the work they would do depended on whether they were men or women. According to Schreiner University's Logan Library, enslaved women were often made to cook and clean around the house, but could also be put to work in the fields of farmers.
By contrast, enslaved men were often used as doormen. Whenever the men who owned them were away, they were instructed to keep everyone aside from female neighbors away from the house. They also served as tutors for young male children.
Perfume was a major export in ancient Greece
Perfume was such a ubiquitous part of daily life in ancient Greece that a fragrance was available for every part of the body. Indeed, the meticulous development and use of these perfumes were so prevalent throughout the city-states of Greece that they became an important part of their brand when trading with other nations.
According to the Penn Museum, the export of perfumes and other cosmetics was a cornerstone of Greek trade throughout the Mediterranean region. Between 800 and 700 BCE, the perfume market in this area was dominated by products from Corinth, Rhodes, and parts of eastern Greece.